Fresh from the Oven and Still Squawking
by LitLover 101
Summary: Josie plans the "perfect" Thanksgiving. Penelope has other plans. M.G. and Lizzie get caught in the middle. Hope and Rafael argue. Landon finds out who and what he is. And Alaric gets a migraine. Thanksgiving Special!


Josie plans the "perfect" Thanksgiving. Penelope has other plans. M.G. and Lizzie get caught in the middle. Hope and Raphael argue. Landon finds out who and what he is. And Alaric gets a migraine.

 **Hello, my lovely readers. So this story kind of came out of nowhere and since Legacies is skipping a Thanksgiving episode, I thought I'd try to deliver one for you. I hope you enjoy it. On with the show…**

 _ **Fresh from the Oven and Still Squawking: Thanksgiving Special**_

On Thanksgivings, the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted usually became quieter. Many of the students who lived here—during the regular days of the school year—were whisked back to their own hometowns, to celebrate the seasons, with their own families. The lucky few got to attend Caroline's Forbes' Thanksgivings.

This year, Caroline would not be coming home for the holiday, which meant that Josie had to take on her mom's role. Walking down the empty main hallway, clipboard in hand, Josie searched for her…friends. She could not make the perfect Thanksgiving all by herself.

"Hey, Josie," Penelope Park's voice made Josie freeze up before she turned on her heel, to face her nemesis.

"Hi, Penelope." Of course, not all of the people who were trapped here this Thanksgiving, were a welcome sight.

"What are you up to?" Penelope moved toward Josie who hugged the clipboard to her chest.

"Nothing you'd be interested in, Penelope. Bye." Josie turned her back on Penelope, to continue her search for Lizzie, Hope, Raphael, M. G., and even Landon.

Penelope simply followed Josie down the hallway. "I can help." She offered Josie a smile and Josie frowned.

"Why?" Josie inquired, feeling nervous.

"Why not?" Penelope replied. She was still smiling and Josie was still feeling the need to run.

"Get away from my sister, Satan," Lizzie Saltzman called out.

"We're just talking," Penelope retorted, smirking at Lizzie.

Huffing, Lizzie stalked down the hallway. "You're never just talking. You're scheming, and thinking of a new, more hideous thing to make our day just a little bit worse. Now, get lost!" Hands on her hips, Lizzie glared at Penelope.

Laughing, Penelope moved around Lizzie. She winked at Josie. "Let me know when you want my help."

"How about: Never!" Lizzie snarled. Her eyes were wide, her teeth were bared, and Josie took ahold of her sister's hand with her free one. "Lizzie, calm down," Josie said, squeezing Lizzie's hand, half-afraid that Lizzie would try to annihilate Penelope, and half-hoping she would.

"I'm fine." Lizzie pulled her hand away, and crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing with my clipboard?" Her brows rose and she puckered her lower lip out at her sister.

"I'm…" Josie took a deep breath. "Since mom's not coming home, I'm take charge of our Thanksgiving dinner today." She offered her sister a smile whose jaw opened, leaving her gawking at her twin.

"What? Why? No!" Lizzie shook her head rapidly. "One, we have cooks to feed us. Two, mom will be here. It's Thanksgiving, Jo. She's not going to leave us. Not today. She loves holidays too much." Lizzie began to walk down the hall and her shoulders were stiff. This was not a good sign. This was a sign that Lizzie was going to lose her shit, again.

"Lizzie, please," Josie called after her sister. "It's important to me. And I already told the cooks to take the day off. We've got it covered."

"You what?" Lizzie stopped at the end of a hall. She turned to face her sister, her eyes even wider as her anger took hold. "Why would you do that? What do you know about cooking? What do any of us know about cooking? We weren't raised to know how to cook."

"We'll figure it out. How hard could it be?" Josie questioned Lizzie, who shook her head in exasperation.

~0~

Cooking turned out to be lot harder than Josie had anticipated. Especially, when no one seemed to feel like helping. "Okay, so you have to take the insides of the turkey out, and then," she consulted the cookbook her mother used.

"Then you call someone who knows what hell they're doing," Lizzie grumbled. She sat on top of the only empty space on the kitchen counter, examining her fingernails.

"You could help, you know," Josie snapped.

"I could." Lizzie nodded.

"You need to pre-heat the oven," M. G. stated. He stood next to Lizzie and stirred the cranberry sauce. At least one of her friend's was being helpful. Even if his attention was on Lizzie and he kept trying to tip the sauce onto Lizzie who smacked him on the arm.

"Be careful. This dress is new!" Lizzie snapped.

"I know," M. G. grinned at Lizzie who rolled her eyes.

"I've got pie," Raphael Whaite proclaimed. He came into the room and Josie's eyebrows rose. "What?" Raphael now looked uncertain.

"You're supposed to help me make it. From scratch," Josie complained.

"Raf never made a pie," Landon told her. He moved over to the oven. "What's the temp for the turkey?" He eyed the oven like he'd never seen one before. Did anyone know how to cook around here?

"Try looking in the book," Hope Mikaelson said. She came in from outside in a set of jogging clothes.

"Hope, where have you been!" Josie demanded as she tried to carry the heavy, slippery turkey, over to the sink, without dropping it onto the floor.

"I needed to think," Hope retorted. "And, yes, I got all thirty-seven of your texts messages," she added, removing her phone from her pants' pocket. "I only read them when I got back here." Her eyes flicked over the chaos in the kitchen. "Shouldn't you ask your dad for help with all of this?" She waved a hand at the mess in the kitchen.

"Dad's busy," Josie said. She felt the turkey slipping between her fingers. "Help!" Josie cried. Raphael was there in the blink of an eye, his hands cupped the bottom of the turkey. Josie met his eyes and blushed. She remembered their kiss and Raphael seemed to be thinking about the same thing.

"Nice save, Raphael," Lizzie called. Josie's eyes flicked to her sister. "I can take over, sis." She hopped off the counter, to take hold of the turkey's legs. Josie looked from her sister to Raphael.

"I think Josie and I can handle this bad bird," Raphael said, glancing at Lizzie, who looked like he'd slapped her.

"Bet that's not all he wants to handle," Penelope's voice echoed through the room and everyone's eyes moved to her.

"What do you want?" Lizzie demanded.

Penelope focused on Landon. "Him." She wiggled a finger at Landon.

"Me?" Landon looked from Penelope, to Hope, and then back at Penelope. "Why?"

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Alaric's looking for you."

"And not Hope?" Lizzie sneered at Hope and Josie sighed. She'd hoped they could get through just one day.

"Nope," Penelope shook her head.

Landon looked like he was hoping that someone would offer to go with him, before he trudged out of the room.

"One down. Penelope to go," Lizzie said, loud enough for everyone left in the room to hear her.

Penelope came further into the kitchen. "Where do you want me, Josie?"

"Out of here!" Lizzie snarled.

"I didn't ask you." Penelope moved to come closer to Josie; when Lizzie stepped between them.

"Isn't there something she could do?" M. G. asked.

Josie looked to her friend. Did he lose his mind? It seemed like one kiss between him and she-who-shall-not-be-named and he'd forgotten where his loyalties lie. "I guess she can put the marshmallows on top of the yams."

"Where are the yams?" Penelope asked them.

"At the store. In Richmond. Why don't you go and pick some up for us?" Lizzie demanded.

"Lizzie!" Hope groaned. "It's Thanksgiving. Can't you declare a cease-fire, for one day of the year?"

Lizzie turned her gaze on Hope while Josie tried to concentrate on giving the turkey a bath. Raphael's fingers brushed hers and she forgot about the drama going on in the background; until Raphael spoke up. "I wonder what your dad wants with Landon?"

"Who cares?' Hope blurted.

Josie and Raphael turned to Hope. "What is your problem with Landon?" Raphael demanded. He moved away from the sink and Josie sighed. So much for having help to get this thing into the pan.

~0~

While everyone was busily enjoying their holiday, yelling at each other, Landon Kirby sat opposite Alaric Saltzman. Alaric looked stern for a guy with a plate of pumpkin pie on his desk and a turkey sweater on his chest.

"Landon," Alaric said, opening a folder. "I have some good news for you."

"Oh, really?" Landon sat up straighter. He'd half-expected for Alaric to tell Landon Alaric was booting Landon's ass into the street and Alaric could care less how Landon spent the holiday. Everyone else seemed to think all the horrible things that had been happening at the school were connected to Landon. If Landon could stop them, he'd be more than happy to, but he just didn't know how, or if he was connected to them.

Waiting for Alaric to continue, Landon tried to not get his hopes up. He'd had too many times in his life when it seemed like he'd finally found a home, and then the rug was jerked from under him.

"I believe I know what you are. And, more importantly, who you are," Alaric actually cracked a smile. Now, he had Landon's full and undivided attention.

"Okay. So, who am I?" Landon felt like that was more important than what he was. He'd deal with what was behind door number two later. Right now, he just wanted to know who he was.

Alaric placed the folder on his desk before he pushed it over to Landon. "I have a friend. A vampire. Well, he's… It's complicated. His name is Damon Salvatore –"

Landon nodded, as he stared at writing in a language he did not understand. "Like the school," he interrupted.

"Yes. Like the school. Stefan Salvatore, the vampire we named this school after—Damon is his older brother and he's also my buddy." Alaric hesitated before he continued. Landon's eyes moved to Alaric. The man seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "Before Damon was turned, he met a young woman, Gillian Carmichael. This was during the civil war. Damon was wounded. Gillian took pity on him, and helped care for him, for about a month. They grew close."

"And she got pregnant?" Landon ventured. He thought he knew where this was going.

"Right. Gillian got pregnant. And Damon had to return to his troop. Later, Damon deserted. And he sent letters to Gillian's family. He wanted to know how she was. He wasn't in love with her, but he wanted to know if she was okay. He didn't know about the baby. That is until he got a letter…"

Landon flipped through the contents of the folder, until he came across a badly faded letter from the 1800s. "Dear Mr. Salvatore," it began. Landon's eyes moved down the letter. "We're sorry to inform you of Ms. Carmichael's passing, during childbirth. The baby has been given to a good family. We have enclosed the address."

Landon looked to Alaric. "Did he ever go to see the baby?"

Alaric shook his head. "No. He never met his daughter. He was turned into a vampire, not too long after that. And then he thought it was better for her to never see him."

Nodding, Landon continued through the research in the folder. Copies of birth certificates led to Landon's. "Wow." He shook his head. "I don't know what to say." He paused, and then he closed the folder, handing it over to Alaric. "How did you figure out that I'm this Damon guy's descendant?"

"That's where it gets interesting," Alaric got up and walked over to the book shelf. He pulled down a book. "This has to do with what you are. See, sometimes those who descend from witches become, well, witches. Sometimes they don't. Like my girls: Lizzie and Josie. They're magical siphoners. You, on the other hand, are something else. You're what roughly translates to a magical magnifier."

"A what?" Landon sat up, his elbows on his knees.

"A magical magnifier," Alaric repeated. "Instead of being turned into a witch, your DNA turned you into a compass for magical beings. They're drawn to you, because you increase their powers. This might explain why— since you've been at this school—we've had an influx of creatures being drawn to us, or you. And that would explain why you were drawn to the knife. Or it was drawn to you."

"How did you even figure I was connected to the Salvatores?" Landon was reeling.

Alaric looked a little guilty. "I saw you wearing some of Damon's clothes, and I had this crazy sense of deja vu. I asked Lizzie to snag your hairbrush and sent some of your hair to a friend of mine, in Alaska. She had a couple of quiet tests done, and my crazy theory turned out to be well-founded."

"Oh, so, I'm…" Landon shook his head. "Okay. Right. Um… I think." Getting to his feet, Landon felt somewhat unsteady. "I think… I need to go…" He moved toward the door to the office.

Alaric came around his desk and placed a heavy hand on Landon's shoulder. "You might want to take a seat, catch your breath before you go back downstairs."

"Uh-huh," Landon felt like the world was whirling around and he needed to take a seat. He turned around and fell into the seat. "You said that Damon was a vampire?"

"His ancestor, Silas, was a very powerful witch. Also a raving psychotic monster," Alaric explained.

"Great." Landon shook his head. Trying to wrap his head around this development, he looked at the pumpkin that now sat on top of Alaric's desk. "Wasn't that a piece of pie?" he asked absently.

Alaric looked at the pumpkin. "Damn," he groaned, and then he strode to the door. "You're going to be okay," he told Landon.

"Sure." Landon nodded.

~0~

"Oh, my God!" Josie screamed at the turkey she'd placed in the oven—and then decided to take a quick peek at—began to squawk at her.

"What's going on?" Hope demanded.

Raphael came over and jerked the door all the way open. The turkey emitted another irritated squawk and then flew out of the oven. "I knew it wasn't done," Raphael muttered. "But this is ridiculous."

"Stop it!" Josie cried, oven mitts waving in the air as she watched the turkey flying around the room.

Lizzie let out a cry when the turkey sailed past her head. "Let it go! Ew! I don't want that creeper in my stomach!"

M.G. began to laugh, when Lizzie glared at him. "Sorry."

Lizzie waved a hand and a window opened. The turkey took the hint, and left just as Alaric came into the kitchen. "Does someone want to explain to me why a turkey just flew out the window?" he demanded.

"It's…" Josie looked out the window. "It was supposed to be dinner, daddy. I don't know how it became like that. It was dead, when I put it in the oven. And now Thanksgiving in ruined," she wailed.

Lizzie puffed out her cheeks. "Not if I have anything to say about it." She turned to M. G. "We're going to the store and we're not coming back until we have a turkey. A dead one."

"You don't have a driver's license," Alaric pointed out. "Neither does M. G. Do you want me to drive you?"

"I can drive them," Landon said. He came into the room, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

"You?" Lizzie scoffed. "I'd take a ride from Penelope first."

Penelope smiled as she placed marshmallows on top of the yams.

"Penelope can't drive, either," Alaric said, rubbing his forehead. "And, Landon, I don't think you're in the right state of mind to be driving anyone. Let Hope do it."

"No!" Lizzie cried, stomping her foot. "I can do this one thing, without Hope's help. Besides, she and Mop Head are on the outs. And I so do not feel like listening to them whine at each other. Let's go, before everything closes."

Lizzie felt happier when she, M.G., and Landon escaped the kitchen. She'd been looking for an excuse to get out of there anyway. It just wasn't right. Mom should be here. She should be teaching them how to cook dinner. She should be bossing them around about how they set the table. She should be sitting at the head of the table.

Gritting her teeth, Lizzie stopped beside one of the school's cars and waited for Landon and M. G. to catch up. "Shot gun," she said, watching M. G.'s shoulders fall. She knew he harbored a massive crush on her, but she couldn't go there.

Landon climbed behind the wheel and Lizzie slipped in beside him. Yes, she'd rather be in the car with Raphael, but she'd deal with Landon, and his weirder than normal vibe. "What's up with you?" she demanded.

Landon glanced at her. "Me? Nothing."

"Bull," Lizzie looked to M.G. in the rearview mirror. "He's lying, right?"

M.G. sat forward in his seat, peering at Landon. "I think so."

Landon shook his head as he pulled the car out of the driveway. "You want to get a turkey? I don't want to talk about what happened. And you don't like me, so let's not pretend we're friends."

"Fine by me," Lizzie huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

M.G. fell back in his seat. It was going to be a long ride.

~0~

Stomping back to the car, Lizzie let out a tiny shriek. "That was the fifth store!" she yelled. Turning, she faced M. G. "Think, M. G., we have to find a turkey. That was our one mission. Yes, I am not happy about this year's celebrations, but I can't disappoint my sister."

M. G. set his hands on her shoulders. "We'll find a turkey for Josie. Okay?"

For two seconds, Lizzie relaxed under his touch before she put her game face back on. "Right. There's got to be, like, turkey farms, somewhere in this backwards town. And we're going to find one." With a smile, Lizzie turned to find that Landon was gone. "What the hell did he do?" she shouted.

~0~

Fifteen minutes later, Lizzie and M. G. were still standing in the middle of the Compton Shopping and Whole Foods parking lot. Neither of them had any idea what to do when a familiar car pulled up. "Hi kids, need a lift?"

"Um, okay," Lizzie said, glancing at M. G. He looked nervous and she was trying not to look that way, too.

Sheriff Matt Donovan popped the door to the passenger side. Lizzie hesitated before she climbed in the front and M. G. climbed in the back. "Headed back to the school," Matt said. He wasn't asking. And the no-nonsense demeanor made Lizzie gulp. Humans could not be trusted, any more than supernaturals.

"Actually, Sheriff, we're having a problem," M. G. coughed before he continued as Matt eyed him in the rearview mirror. "See, Ms. Forbes is still out of town, and Lizzie and Josie really wanted to have a Thanksgiving dinner. But our turkey –"

"It flew out the window, Sheriff," Lizzie interrupted. "And Mom used to talk about how special Thanksgiving was for her, and your friends. Jo wants this so badly. Please, help us!" She gave Matt her most innocent expression and waited.

Matt sighed. "Okay. I know some people who have a turkey farm. That'll be better for you, time wise, 'cause you don't have a lot left. You don't want to be trying to thaw out a bird in the next…four hours, do you?" He cracked a grin and Lizzie laughed. M. G. looked from the siphoner to the human before he joined in.

"That sounds great. Really. Thank you, Sherriff." Lizzie fell back into her seat and sighed in relief.

~0~

Lizzie's relief did not last long when the Sheriff, M. G. and she walked around, inspecting the turkeys. "You're going to have to kill it, when you get back," Matt told them.

"M. G., sounds like your job," Lizzie said as M. G. pointed out a plump turkey, who eyed them suspiciously.

"I don't kill birds," M. G. protested.

"Better a bird," Matt retorted.

Lizzie sighed. So much for civility. Now, she had one more thing to do. Removing her phone, she dialed a number.

~0~

"What do you mean: Landon's missing?" Hope demanded, her eyes rounding as she prepared a pot of soup, because they were all becoming hungry.

Josie sat at the table, her head in her hands. The twin looked up. "What's going on?"

"Landon took off. Again!" Hope gave Raphael a pointed glare.

Raphael stared back at Hope. "Where are Lizzie and M. G.?"

"We're at a turkey farm," M. G. called out. "With the Sheriff."

"What?" Hope cried. Now, she was worried. She knew, from Alaric, that his and Matt's bond was strained—due to recent circumstances. "The Sheriff is there. Did you try to steal a turkey?"

"No," Lizzie snapped.

Penelope began to laugh. "Lizzie Saltzman, steal a turkey? I doubt she would touch one, even with her powers. Poor dear."

Hope decided to take the high road, and ignore Penelope. She knew Penelope was behind the pumpkins and the runaway bird. However, it was Thanksgiving and she would deal with the younger girl another time. Right now, they needed to find Landon and come home, with a turkey, before Josie lost it and made Lizzie look like Glinda, the Good Witch.

"We're going to grab a car and come to you. Then we'll find Landon. Okay?" Hope said.

"Fine," Lizzie retorted, sounding like it was not fine.

Hope hung up. "Raphael, up for another road trip?"

Raphael turned to Josie. "I'll be back." His smile made Hope's eyebrows rise, but she said nothing.

"I'm sure you will be. Don't worry. I'll keep her warm for you," Penelope said, wrapping an arm around Josie's shoulders. Josie let out an irritable noise and elbowed Penelope away.

Hope went to the door and left the school; Raphael right behind her. She hoped that leaving Josie alone, with Penelope was not going to end with a dead body on the floor by the time they returned.

~0~

"Hope," Sheriff Donovan greeted Hope. He gave Raphael a long look before he turned to Lizzie and M. G. "I assume you came to pick these two up."

"I did," Hope replied.

"Good. And I hear another one of you is on the run," Matt added.

"We'll find him," Raphael replied.

"Good," Matt nodded. "You might want to do that, before I have another body on my hands."

"That was not our fault," Lizzie cried. Hope gave her a look and Lizzie hissed out air before stomping over to the school's car. She climbed in the back and slammed the door closed.

"Does Ric know that this kid is missing?" Matt asked Hope.

"Not yet," Hope admitted. "I'll let Alaric know, if we don't find him in the next hour."

"You'd better," Matt said. He tipped his hat, and then headed toward his car.

"Sheriff," Hope called.

"Yeah?" Matt paused.

"What are you doing for dinner?" Hope watched Matt's eyes lighten.

~0~

Hope spent the next fifty-five minutes driving around Mystic Falls. It's such a small town. She should have found Landon by then. "Shit," she groaned.

"What?" Raphael cried.

"I need to do a tracking spell," Hope sighed. "I was hoping to do this the old-fashioned way, but he just had to make it difficult on us. Like he does everything."

"Excuse me?" Raphael got out of the car, at the same time as Hope did. He rounded the car to stare at her. "You know that Landon is so messed up when it comes to you. We were out in the wilderness, and all he could think about was how you felt about him. I don't know what he see in you."

"Excuse me?" Hope snapped as Raphael walked away from her. "I am out here, driving all over town, trying to find Landon, and bring him home. I could be back at the school, sitting down to a meal, and talking about how to decorate the dining hall."

"How is this helping us find Landon?" Lizzie asked them, looking from Hope to Raphael.

"It isn't," Hope snapped, shaking her head.

Lizzie pulled out her phone. "I've got a great idea. Why don't we call my dad, since his talk with Landon made Landon a bigger freak than usual? Maybe dad knows where he is." Without waiting to hear what the others had to say; Lizzie hit a key. "Hi, daddy. So, Landon's missing."

"What?" Alaric yelled.

"Sorry. And we need to know where he might have gone to," Lizzie added.

"The Gilbert house," Alaric said.

"Why?" Lizzie prompted.

"Let me go pick him up. You kids come back to the school," Alaric told them.

"Okay," Lizzie replied. She hung up, shoving her phone into her purse. "We're going to the Gilberts'."

"You said we're going back," Raphael protested. "Maybe Landon needs to talk to these people. We should give him his privacy."

"All in favor of going to the Gilberts'?" Lizzie held up her hand.

Hope looked at Raphael before she held up her own hand. M. G. added his. And the turkey gobbled its own opinion. Since none of them spoke turkey, they decided to ignore it, in favor of going to the Gilberts.

~0~

Parked outside the Gilbert residence, Landon stood, his hands dug into his pockets. His eyes were on the house in front of him. Hope heard kids inside the house as she moved to join Landon. "Are you okay?"

Landon turned dazed eyes on her. "Hope?"

"Yes." Hope nodded.

"What are we doing here, Landon?" Raphael said, coming to join them.

"Should we go and ring the bell?" Lizzie asked as she, M. G. and the turkey came to join the small group.

"No." Landon shook his head. "I don't want to bother them."

"Then why are you here, being a creepy stalker?" Lizzie inquired. Raphael and Hope sent her sharp looks. Lizzie ignored them, in favor of staring at Landon.

"They're my family," Landon exclaimed. He looked shocked by his own admission. "I'm a Salvatore. Damon Salvatore is my great-great-great-grandfather. Something with a lot of greats."

"Okay. So, we should go and say 'Hi.'" Lizzie started toward the door, when Landon moved forward, and grabbed her wrist.

"Not today." Landon's voice made Lizzie turn to look at him, and for a moment Hope felt a prick of jealousy. Something passed between the angry blonde girl and the black-haired enigma before Landon dropped Lizzie's wrist and Lizzie blinked before she hurried back to the car.

"I thought I said 'Go back to the school,'" Alaric said, closing his car door.

Hope moved away from the group. "Sorry, Alaric. We're headed back now."

"Is everyone okay?" Alaric asked her, his tone quiet.

"I think so," Hope nodded.

Alaric turned back to his car. "I'll see you back at the school."

"Okay," Hope headed back to the other car. She just hoped that there was a school to get back to.

~0~

Safely ensconced in the school once more, Hope walked alongside Landon, back to the kitchen, where Josie sat with Penelope. Neither girl was talking. Surprisingly, Hope noted that not only was most of the food done, Josie and Penelope seemed to have no bodily injuries.

"Need help with anything?" Hope asked Josie.

"The dining hall needs decorated. And the turkey needs to be cooked." Josie raised her eyes and Hope could see the girl needed sleep.

"Okay. You go. Take a nap. We'll take of everything else." Hope watched Josie get to her feet and leave the room. "Penelope, no more magic, or I'll recommend to Ric that he find a new room for you, in the basement."

Penelope got to her feet, smirked at Hope, and left without a word.

Hope turned to the others. "Okay, people. Let's go."

~0~

Within several hours, Hope, Lizzie, Landon, Raphael and M. G. had managed to cook the turkey, decorate the dining hall and set the places. "We need another one." Hope saw Lizzie open her mouth before the girl closed it and went to find what they needed.

When the room was set, Hope and Lizzie went upstairs, and found Josie, fast asleep. "Jo," Lizzie called, shaking her sister. "It's time."

"Okay," Josie yawned and followed her twin and Hope back downstairs. Hope turned to see Josie's hand go to her mouth and tears fill her eyes. "Thank you," Josie gasped. Lizzie moved to the head of the table and pulled out the chair that Caroline usually sat at. She waved a hand for Josie to take a seat. "You're the hostess."

Josie grinned as she took a seat. Lizzie took a seat to her right. Raphael took the one to her left. Alaric sat at the other end of the table. Hope found Landon sitting beside Lizzie. Penelope grabbed the other seat next to Raphael, with a smirk directed at the boy, who looked freaked out. M. G. claimed a seat beside Penelope. Looked like Landon and Lizzie's side was super popular.

With a sigh, Hope sat to the left of Alaric, taking one of the remaining seats on the Ls' side.

A cough alerted them to another presence. "Hello," Matt said.

"Sheriff, what can we help you with?" Alaric asked, moving to stand.

Hope placed a hand on Alaric's shoulder. "I invited him. Hi, Sheriff. There's an empty place here." Hope indicated the seat between her and Landon.

Matt took a seat and sat his hat beside him. "Thanks for having me."

"No one should be alone today," Hope replied with a smile.

"Should we say what we're thankful for?" Alaric asked the group.

Matt held up a glass of water. "I'm thankful for a monster-free holiday."

"I'm thankful for M. G., who strangled dinner," Lizzie quipped.

Matt chocked on his water and Hope patted his back.

M. G. was next. "I'm thankful that I have great friends." He eyed Lizzie who rolled her eyes.

Raphael followed. "I'm thankful for my brother, Landon. I don't know where I'd be tonight; if not for him."

Landon smiled. "I'm thankful I have a home. And friends, I think." He looked down the table at Hope.

Hope nodded. "I'm thankful that we're all here. And that no one turned the turkey back into its feathery-self, so it could fly away, because I am starving." Everyone laughed.

Penelope looked around the table. "I'm thankful to not be alone today." Her eyes darkened for a moment and Hope thought she sensed Penelope showing a spark of humanity before she grinned at them. "I can't wait for Christmas. I hear old Saint Nik is coming to town!" She gave Hope a meaningful look and Hope suppressed the desire to turn Penelope into a turkey.

Josie went next. "I'm thankful that we managed to pull off the impossible—a Caroline Forbes'-style Thanksgiving, and I'm thankful that next year mom will be here, to do it for us."

"Here, here," Hope said, picking up her glass and clinking it with the others.

Alaric stood up. "I am thankful for having a group of kids that I can see growing into young women and men, who will show the world that they have nothing to fear. We can find, peace, harmony and hope in this world." He looked to Hope who grinned. "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving," Hope said, blinking back tears and taking a sip of her water. She missed her family, but she might have a second family, at this table, and that meant something to look forward to during the holiday season.

 **So, my theory about Landon being part of the Salvatore family is probably completely off, but after seeing him in Damon's shirt, I couldn't help myself.**

 **Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.**

 **Peace,**

 **J**


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